Aizoaceae

Mesembryanthemum haeckelianum A. Berger (≡ Aptenia haeckeliana (A. Berger) Bittrich ex Gerbaulet ≡ Platythyra haeckeliana (A. Berger) N. E. Br.) – Fig. 1. A Hs(S): Spain: Valencia, Paiporta, l'Horta, Sant Joaquim, camí de l'Hort de Colom, 39°25′8.72″N, 00°24′46.43″W, 17.5 m, nitrophilous grasslands on roadsides, 8 Dec 2020, Fos & Laguna (VAL 243737), det. G. F. Smith & F. Verloove. – Mesembryanthemum haeckelianum, which is endemic to South Africa's Eastern Cape province, is sometimes used as a groundcover in domestic horticulture and landscaping. However, as a groundcover, it is not as popular as the purple-flowered M. cordifolium L. f. and the red-flowered hybrid between these two species, M. ×vascosilvae (Gideon F. Sm. & al.) L. Sáez & Aymerich (see Smith & al. 2020; Sáez & Aymerich 2020), at least in the Valencian Community (Spain) and other parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Nevertheless, both species and the hybrid between them are marketed for ornamental use and plants are sold on-site in nurseries and garden centres as well as online. Note though that material of all three taxa is often confusingly sold as varieties of M. cordifolium. Mesembryanthemum haeckelianum is reported here as a new alien plant for the flora of Spain and Europe. Beyond its natural geographical distribution range, it has been reported from Belgium and Germany, but these records clearly refer to living plants cultivated in the Botanical Gardens of Meise and Darmstadt, respectively. There is also a record from Lajares, Lanzarote (Canary Islands) reported by GBIF (2022), but without access to information on the origin of this material nor any evidence such as pictures or herbarium sheets to aid its identification, it could possibly be of cultivated plants. The specimens found in Valencia (Fig. 1) cover a surface area of 3–4 m² with some branches scrambling to a height of about 2 m into a Cupressus sempervirens L. tree that grows nearby. Mesembryanthemum haeckelianum grows in nitrophilous plant communities on a roadside in association with Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima (L.) Thell., Cichorium intybus L., Crepis vesicaria subsp. taraxacifolia (Thuill.) Thell., Diplotaxis erucoides (L.) DC., Emex spinosa (L.) Campd., Fumaria capreolata L., Malva parviflora L., Oxalis pes-caprae L., Euphorbia peplus L., E. terracina Lag., Piptatherum miliaceum Coss. and Plantago lagopus L., among others. Because of its creeping and scrambling habit, it has not been possible to confirm the number of naturalized individuals, although the material could be derived from a single specimen. Plants flower sporadically throughout the year, as does M. ×vascosilvae, incidentally, although in winter the flowers are smaller and paler yellow to almost white. Fruits with well-developed seeds have also been observed. Mesembryanthemum L. and Aptenia N. E. Br. are often united by contemporary authors, as a result of molecular phylogenetic studies (Klak & al. 2007, Klak & Bruyns 2013). Online databases such as the International Plant Names Index (IPNI 2023), the World Flora Online (WFO 2023) the Catalogue of Life (Bánki & al. 2023), POWO (2023) but also the Euro+Med PlantBase (Raab-Straube 2018+a) adhere to this view. We have previously referred to this species under Aptenia (Smith & al. 2020).

S. Fos, E. Laguna, G. F. Smith & F. Verloove

Fig. 1.

Mesembryanthemum haeckelianum – A: flowering plant in nitrophilous grassland habitat; B: detail of plant with flowers; C: detail of fruits. – Spain, Valencia, Paiporta, Sant Joaquim, 1 May 2023 (A), 8 Dec 2020 (B, C), photographs by S. Fos.

Anacardiaceae

Schinus polygama (Cav.) Cabrera (≡ Amyris polygama Cav.) – Fig. 2.

A Tn: Tunisia: Jendouba, Aïn Draham, 36°46′46″N, 08°41′11″E, 720 m, roadsides beneath walls of old buildings, 17 Oct 2021, El Mokni (herb. Univ. Monastir). – As part of ongoing studies on updating the list of alien Anacardiaceae in Tunisia (El Mokni 2019), Schinus polygama is here reported for the first time for the adventitious Tunisian flora (Henning & Raab-Straube 2016+a; APD 2023) where it seems to have recently escaped from cultivation and therefore can be considered as a local casual alien. Admitting that known varieties of S. polygama are connected with each other on intermediate macromorphological features, collected Tunisian material shows predominately an overflowered infructescence with dark purple fruits and is rather assigned to S. polygama var. parviflora (Marchand) F. A. Barkley (vs few-flowered inflorescence with black fruits in var. chilensis F. A. Barkley; cf. Barkley 1944: 176). Schinus L. species are distributed in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru, where they can be found in the inter-Andean valleys and Andean cloud forests as well as at low altitudes in SE to NE Argentina, extending into Uruguay, Paraguay and S Brazil; few endemic Chilean species occur in sclerophyllous forests in a Mediterranean climate (Silva Luz & al. 2019, 2022). In particular Schinus areira L., S. molle L., S. terebinthifolia Raddi (commonly known as pepper trees) and S. polygama have become invasive species outside their native range (Silva Luz & al. 2022); the latter has a native range from Chile to Mendoza in Argentina (POWO 2023). It is a dioecious shrub or tree growing to 3(–5) m tall, with simple leaves and reddish, pink to purple globose, obovoid drupes. The species was introduced to California and Tajikistan (POWO 2023) and to Brazil, Uruguay, the Iberian Peninsula, Belgium and New Zealand (GBIF 2023). In Africa, it was reported only in the Maghreb countries of Morocco and Algeria (GBIF 2023), however with “unknown status”. An analytical key is proposed here for the adventitious species of the genus Schinus in Africa (derived from Miller & Wilken 2012; NSW Flora Online 2023).

R. El Mokni

Fig. 2.

Schinus polygama, fruiting branches. – Tunisia, Jendouba, Aïn Draham, 17 Oct 2021, photograph by R. El Mokni.

Asparagaceae

Muscari armeniacum H. J. Veitch

A Uk: Ukraine: Cherkasy Oblast, NW vicinity of Uman city, a small group (a clone and several single plants) in bushes far from urban built-up area, 28 Apr 2023, Kostruba, Chorna & Shynder (KWHA 103186; photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/180742252); Kirovohrad Oblast, Hayvoron city, 48.332691°N, 29.861607°E, single plants on roadsides, spontaneous, reproducing by seeds and spreading beyond flower gardens, 25 Apr 2023, Shynder & Mamchur (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/158060830); Odesa city, 46.382489°N, 30.749556°E, steppe slope above seashore, spontaneous, 16 Apr 2016, Kalashnik (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/178884079); Sumy Oblast, Putivl city, one plant spontaneous on side of street, 51.335461°N, 33.873895°E, 3 May 2022, Miskova (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/115097911). – Muscari armeniacum grows wild in the Caucasus, extending to Anatolia and the Balkan Peninsula, and is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in spring flower gardens (Mashkovska 2015; Stuart 2011). Examples of spontaneous spread of M. armeniacum in botanical gardens and dendrological parks were reported (Shynder & al. 2022). As an established neophyte, M. armeniacum has already been indicated for Austria (Fischer & al. 2008: 1076), the Czech Republic (Pyšek & al. 2012), France (Tison & Foucault 2014), Germany (Hand & al. 2023), Great Britain and Ireland (Stace 2010: 922), Italy (Conti & al. 2005), and as casual with uncertain degree of naturalization in some other European countries (Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, see Euro+Med 2006+). In Ukraine, this plant currently has the status of a casual alien, escaped from cultivation. It is observed growing spontaneously in cities and suburbs, at various distances apart from flower gardens where it is grown. It reproduces well by seeds, so it may become naturalized in Ukraine in the near future.

Fig. 3.

Podranea ricasoliana – A: flowering branch; B: habit. – Italy, Liguria, Taggia (Imperia), 15 Sep 2022, photographs by M. Lonati.

O. Shynder, H. Chorna, N. Doiko, K. Kalashnik, T. Kostruba, T. Mamchur & O. Miskova

Bignoniaceae

Podranea ricasoliana (Tanfani) Sprague – Fig. 3.

A It: Italy: Liguria, Taggia (Imperia), 43.863695°N, 7.851043°E, 68 m, on a chalky SE-facing rock wall, 15 Sep 2022, Lonati, Pittarello & Nota (B 10 1246800). – Podranea ricasoliana, commonly known as Port Saint Johns creeper, is a liana species generally considered endemic to South Africa, with a very restricted range confined to the mouth of the Mzimvubu River in Port Saint Johns, Eastern Cape Province (Senar & Cardero 2019). However, many South African botanists suspect that this species may not be indigenous to S Africa but rather was introduced from E Africa (Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia) by slave traders (Malan & Notten 2002). As an ornamental species it is cultivated in all warm climate regions of the world. It is naturalized in N Africa (Algeria), in the United States (Florida, Hawaii), Central and South America, Australia and New Zealand (Hurrell & al. 2012; Senar & Cardero 2019). In the Euro+Med area, the species is considered a casual alien in the Canary Islands, and naturalized in the Azores, continental Spain and Corsica (Laguna & Mateo 2001; Tison & de Foucault 2014; Raab-Straube 2018+b; Senar & Cardero 2019). In the locality described in this note, a large individual has settled on a vertical wall facing the Monastero di S. Caterina da Siena, while two other specimens grow in the terraces above. On the basis of our observations in the field, P. ricasoliana is to be considered a casual alien in Italy.

M. Lonati, M. Pittarello & G. Nota

Boraginaceae

Buglossoides incrassata (Guss.) I. M. Johnst. subsp. incrassata (≡ Lithospermum incrassatum Guss. ≡ B. arvensis subsp. incrassata (Guss.) Kerguélen) – Fig. 4.

+ Cm: Crimea: Sevastopol region, Cape Aya Nature Reserve, Biller ridge, Demir-Capu tract, 24 Apr 2010, Turbanov (photo); ibid., Inzhir tract, 13 Apr 2012, Yevseyenkov (photo); ibid., SW slope of Biller ridge, 600 m, gravelly slope, 28 Apr 2012, Svirin (YALT as B. tenuiflora); ibid., Balaclava vicinity, Vitmer ravine, 44°30′03″N, 33°37′44″E, 175 m, open Juniperus excelsa M. Bieb. forest, 10 Jun 2019, Ryff (herb. Ryff + photo); ibid., 44°30′04″N, 33°37′33″E, 140 m, 27 Apr 2021, Ryff (herb. Ryff + photo); ibid., Mekenzi mountains, 44°39′15.30″N, 33°41′22.06″E, clearing in Quercus pubescens Willd. and Carpinus orientalis Mill. forest, 2 Apr 2023, Yevseyenkov (photo). – Buglossoides incrassata subsp. incrassata is an annual, distributed from the W Mediterranean to W Iran (Zippel & Wilhalm 2003; Valdés & Raab-Straube 2011+; POWO 2023). In some sources, it is listed as a native plant also for the Canary Islands (POWO 2023), and as a casual alien for Germany (Hand & al. 2023; Valdés & Raab-Straube 2011+) and the Czech Republic (Danihelka 2014; Randall 2017; Pyšek & al. 2022; POWO 2023). There is an opinion that this species may also grow in the Caucasus and C Asia (Popov 1953). In Crimea, plants of this taxon were recorded for the first time in 2010, on the spurs of Cape Aya in the vicinity of Sevastopol by I. S. Turbanov. But he identified them as B. tenuiflora (L. f.) I. M. Johnst. and showed his photos under this name on the Plantarium website ( https://www.plantarium.ru/page/image/id/52917.html;  https://www.plantarium.ru/page/image/id/52918.html). Similar plants were subsequently photographed and collected in the same area by S. A. Svirin and P. E. Yevseyenkov. For several years they were not correctly identified because all these finds were only represented by young, flowering specimens. The finding by one of us (LER) in 2019 of mature fruiting specimens and comparison of plants from the vicinity of Sevastopol with specimens stored in the KW and LE herbaria, as well as presented on GBIF (2023) and other internet sources, showed that, in terms of their main characteristic morphological features (bright blue corolla with oblong obtuse lobes, strongly thickened pedicel, enlarged calyx base, oblique receptacle, nutlet with rugose-scrobiculate surface, etc.) they are identical to specimens of B. incrassata subsp. incrassata from the Mediterranean, and especially from the Balkan Peninsula. We investigated the seed-surface ultrastructure of B. incrassata subsp. incrassata from Sevastopol using SEM. The nutlets are pyramidal-triangular, ovoid or subtrigonal, with subcircular areoles; the ventral side has a keel, while the dorsal side is convex; the beak is short and blunt; the shoulders are pronounced; and the surface is irregularly deeply furrowed, with protuberances with type I papillae (Fig. 4E). The features of seed morphology correspond to those given for B. incrassata subsp. incrassata (Edmondson 1978; Cecchi & al. 2014). SW Crimea is so far the only known locality of B. incrassata subsp. incrassata in E Europe. It is a native plant there and found only in natural habitats: on rocky and clayey slopes in juniper and oak woodlands.

Fig. 4.

Buglossoides incrassata subsp. incrassata – A: flowering plant; B: flower; C: fruiting plant; D: calyces of fruiting plant; E: SEM of nutlet. – A, B: Crimea, Balaclava, 27 Apr 2021; C: ibid., 10 Jun 2019; D: 27 May 2020 (collected 10 Jun 2019), photographs by L. E. Ryff; E: ibid., 31 May 2021 (collected 10 Jun 2019), photograph by T. S. Dvirna & M. Shevera.

L. E. Ryff, T. S. Dvirna & M. Shevera

Pulmonaria obscura Dumort.

+ Mk: North Macedonia: Southwest region, Mt Jablanica, forests above village of Lakaica, 21°20′24″N, 20°31′34″E, 1900 m, 17 Aug 1947, Kitanov (SOM 171 338), det. D. Dimitrov. – No previous published records of this taxon from North Macedonia are known (Valdes & Raab-Straube 2011+). The cited specimen corroborates a comment by Matevski (2010: 116) on the possible occurrence of “Pulmonaria officinalis var. obscura” (= P. officinalis subsp. obscura (Dumort.) Murb.) on Mt Skopska Črna Gora, however by not accepting that taxon as a member of the North Macedonian flora. It should be noted that the taxonomic opinion to regard P. officinalis L. and P. obscura as two independent species, based on Sauer (1975) and Bolliger (1982) and currently advocated by Euro+Med (2006+) and POWO (2023), has been recently disproved by phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear and plastid DNA sequences, making the resurrection of subspecies rank for the two taxa more appropriate (Kirchner 2004: 103).

D. Dimitrov & Th. Raus

Cannabaceae

Celtis caucasica Willd. (≡ C. australis subsp. caucasica (Willd.) C. C. Towns.)

A Uk: Ukraine: Odesa Oblast, Odesa city, 46.444784°N, 30.764291°E, 46 m, along fence outside Botanical Garden of I. I. Mechnikov Odesa National University, several young plants, 16 Sep 2022, Shynder & Levchuk (KWHA 102515; photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/151467932); Odesa city, 46.44079°N, 30.76807°E, Botanical Garden of I. I. Mechnikov Odesa National University, spontaneously in undergrowth in arboretum, 17 Sep 2022, Shynder & Levchuk (KWHA 102507; photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/151643748); Zakarpattia Oblast, Uzhhorod city, 48.618504°N, 22.305502°E, in anthropogenic habitats, between Botanical Garden of Uzhhorod National University and Uzhhorod children railway, 5 Sep 2022, Shynder (KW s.n.; photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/151284173); ibid., 16 Sep 2022, Shevera; ibid, 4 Jun 2023, Shynder (KWHA 103178; photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/178956564); Kyiv City, M. M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden, spontaneous generative reproduction, 16 Aug 2023, Shynder (KWHA 103171; photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/178701241). – Celtis caucasica is a tree native to the S Balkans, Caucasus, SW & C Asia to W Himalaya (Grudzinskaya 1979; Tutin 1993). There was information that C. caucasica was possibly autochthonous in Crimea, but this data has not yet been confirmed (Yena 2012). In Ukraine, C. caucasica is occasionally cultivated, mainly in the S region and Crimea. Currently this species has the status of a casual alien, escaped from cultivation.

O. Shynder, L. Levchuk & M. Shevera

Celtis planchoniana K. I. Chr. (= C. glabrata Steven ex Planch.)

A Uk: Ukraine: Odesa city, Chkalov Sanatorium Park, 46.445385°N, 30.768454°E, young tree spontaneous in underwood, 17 Sep 2022, Shynder (KWHA 102524; photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/152606203); ibid., 46.445112°N, 30.768772°E, top of slope above sea near park, young tree 4–5 years old, 26 Sep 2022, Shynder (KW s.n.). – Celtis planchoniana is a tree with a native range in the E submediterranean region (Balkans, Caucasus, Crimea, Anatolia and SW Asia) (Grudzinskaya 1979; Tutin 1993; POWO 2023; Yena 2012). In continental Ukraine, C. glabrata is occasionally cultivated in the S region, for example in Odesa, where it is starting to naturalize. The young plants we discovered had a specific scattered pubescence of hooked hairs, a diagnostic character of C. planchoniana f. aspera Medw. (Grudzinskaya 1979). The species also spreads spontaneously in the Botanical Garden of the I. I. Mechnikov Odesa National University.

O. Shynder & L. Levchuk

Fig. 5.

Alien Casuarina species in Tunisia – A: C. cunninghamiana subsp. cunninghamiana, juvenile plant. – B, C: C. glauca; B: ferruginous cylindric cones; C: branchlet apex. – A: Tunisia, Mahdia, Rejiche, 7 Jul 2023; B, C: ibid., Monastir, Monastir city, 18 Jul 2023, photographs by R. El Mokni.

Caryophyllaceae

Loeflingia hispanica L.

? It: Italy: Campania, “Presa nei contorni di Napoli ed alla Cava”, s.d. [de facto first half of 19^th century], s.c., s.n. (RO [herb. Borgia]). – Loeflingia hispanica is native to a wide area from the Canary Islands to the Mediterranean area, SW Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, according to POWO (2023); the record from Italy seems based on Heywood (1993: 153) who, however, recorded the species in Sicily. In fact, both Marhold (2011+a) and the Portale della flora d'Italia (PFI 2023) indicated L. hispanica in Sicily only. Nevertheless, it was already given by Cortesi (1906) for the surroundings of Naples and Cava de' Tirreni (province of Salerno), both localities in the region of Campania (SW Italy), based on the specimen cited above. This specimen consists of three flowering plants with a single label. Cesare Borgia (1776–1837) was an influential nobleman of the Papal State and a learned naturalist who intensively collected plants especially in Sicily and Campania (Cortesi 1906a, 1906b). It is to be noted that, according to Guadagno (1926), the indications from Campania might be due to a misplacing in the herbarium; however, both “Loeflingia hispanica” and the gathering places were handwritten by Borgia on the same label. On the other hand, L. hispanica is a rare and localized species of sandy meadows in Sicily (Giardina & al. 2007); this habitat is hardly compatible with the two localities of Campania, even at that time. In addition, no one else has noticed this plant in the region. This casts into doubt that the examined herbarium sheet might refer to cultivated or escaped individuals. In fact, the plant was rarely cultivated in the botanical gardens of the region, as recorded by Tenore (1809) from the erstwhile Garden of the Prince of Bisignano in Barra, from where a specimen is preserved in the herbarium of Giovanni Gussone (NAP0002244), a correspondent of Borgia himself (Cortesi 1906a). In addition, many samples of the herbarium Borgia derived from cultivated plants, frequently from the gardens of Cava de' Tirreni (including his own garden) and Catania (Sicily) (see Cortesi 1906a), normally without any note on the labels appropriate to clarify the possibly native status of the gathered plants.

D. Iamonico & E. Del Guacchio

Casuarinaceae

Casuarina cunninghamiana Miq. subsp. cunninghamiana – Fig. 5A.

A Tn: Tunisia: Mahdia, Rejiche, 35°28′41″N, 11°03′02″E, 27–30 m, roadsides, 7 Jul 2023, El Mokni (herb. Univ. Monastir). – The casuarinas are a group of 90–96 species of trees and shrubs placed in four genera: Allocasuarina L. Johnson, Casuarina L., Ceuthostoma L. Johnson and Gymnostoma L. Johnson (Wilson & Johnson 1989). The genus Casuarina comprises c. 17 tree species (Boland & al. 1996), mostly endemic to Australia, but with some representatives in SE Asia and the Pacific Islands. Chiefly due to their ability of nitrogen-fixing, fast-growing and tolerance to a wide range of adverse conditions including periodic waterlogging, drought, salt spray and highly saline soils, three main species, viz. C. cunninghamiana, C. equisetifolia L. and C. glauca Sieber ex Spreng. have widely been planted outside their native range (National Research Council 1984). In N Africa, C. cunninghamiana and C. glauca have been reported as cultivated in Algeria (see, e.g., APD 2023; POWO 2023; Jury 2009+; Belaid & al. 2022), the former also as cultivated in Tunisia (Greuter & Domina 2015: 31). A fourth species, C. stricta Aiton, was reported as introduced to Morocco and Tunisia (Dobignard & Chatelain 2011: 292). During the last few years, few juvenile specimens of C. cunninghamiana were discovered growing on roadsides in the region of Rejiche (Mahdia, CE Tunisia). The taxon seems to be naturalizing near some localities where it was successfully planted and can be considered currently as a casual alien; this is also its first report as a casual alien for N Africa. Tunisian collected material shows marcescent 8–10 teeth (reduced leaves), yellow at base, darker brown toward in the apex and is assigned to subsp. cunninghamiana (cf. Wilson & Johnson 1989: 106).

R. El Mokni

Casuarina glauca Sieber ex Spreng. – Fig. 5B, C.

N Tn: Tunisia: Monastir, Monastir city, between department buildings of Faculty of Pharmacy of Monastir, 35°45′49″N, 10°49′50″E, 10 m, 27 Jun 2020, El Mokni (herb. Univ. Monastir), ibid, 18 Jul 2023, El Mokni (herb. Univ. Monastir); Bizerta, Sejnane toward Nefza, 37°03′34″N, 09°13′25″E, 140 m, roadside, 11 Jul 2023, El Mokni (herb. Univ. Monastir). – Casuarina glauca is an 8–20 m tall tree with typical long-recurved teeth (reduced leaves) on young permanent shoots (Wilson & Johnson 1989: 104 & 107–108), originating from the coast of SE Australia (Elfers 1988). The species has been successfully introduced in saline soils of Cyprus, Egypt, Florida, India, Israel, Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa (National Research Council 1984). In N Africa, C. glauca was introduced only to Morocco (POWO 2023) and Tunisia (pers. obs.), actually with unknown status. It is reported here for the first time as an established alien in Tunisia after the discovery of many juvenile seedlings and saplings with different stem diameters and heights since 2020 in the Monastir region (CE Tunisia) and more recently also of few juvenile specimens from seedlings in the Bizerta region (NE Tunisia). An analytical key is proposed here for the two alien species of the genus Casuarina occurring in Tunisia (derived from Wilson & Johnson 1989: 104; Verloove & Silva 2022: 34).

R. El Mokni

Chenopodiaceae

Chenopodium pratericola Rydb.

A Cm: Crimea: Simferopol, food market Privoz, roadside, 27 Dec 2022, Yena (CSAU); Simferopolsky Rayon, Perovo Village, vicinity of Yuzhnaya poultry farm, 29 Sep 2022, Oleshko (CSAU). – This species is native to North America but as an alien plant spread to Europe, Asia, and South America (GBIF 2023). In the European area, C. pratericola is known from N, C and E Europe (Uotila 2011+a) reaching S as far as Bulgaria (Grozeva 2012) and the Ukraine (Mosyakin & al. 1994). For Crimea, C. pratericola is given here for the first time. The whole plant has a narrowly conic or fusiform habit. From the 17 species of Chenopodium s.l. that occur in the Crimean Peninsula (Yena 2012), C. pratericola is well distinguished by its markedly small (up to 17 mm long), lanceolate (length: width ratio (3–)4: 1), toothless leaves, pointed at the tip and wedge-shaped at the base, tapering into a petiole. One of the most distinctive features of this species is its venation pattern: the leaf is 3-veined from the base, lateral veins are arcuate and twice as short as the midrib (on very small leaves the lateral veins may be faint or sometimes absent). The upper leaf surface is smooth, the lower surface as well as the calyx and petioles are moderately to densely white mealy. The pericarp peels off easily, the flattened, round and nearly keeled, shiny black seeds reach 1–1.3 mm in diam. In general, all morphological characters correspond well to those given in the literature (Mosyakin 1996; Clemants & Mosyakin 2003; Sukhorukov 2014). It seems no coincidence that the pioneering findings of C. pratericola in Crimea were made in areas where active transportation of food and feed occurs. The further fate of this ephemerophyte will be traced in the area.

A. V. Yena

Compositae (Asteraceae)

Carduus acicularis Bertol. (≡ C. pycnocephalus var. acicularis (Bertol.) Weiss) – Fig. 6.

A Cm: Crimea: Yalta region, vicinity of Goluboy Zaliv (Blue Bay) settlement, Limeny valley, territory of Yalta Nature Reserve, 44°24′19″N, 33°58′52″E, 140 m, Pinus plantation, side of fire-fighting country road, 9 Jun 2023, Ryff (YALT + photo); ibid., recreational complex near sea coast, 44°24′07″N, 33°59′17″E, 15 m, roadside, 28 Jun 2023, Ryff (photo). – This species is native to the Mediterranean and Bulgaria. In Switzerland, it is probably alien (Greuter 2006+; POWO 2023). Compared to the closely related Carduus pycnocephalus L. s.l., C. acicularis is more slender, has longer (11–15 cm) and narrower (c. 1 mm in diam.) peduncles, narrower involucral bracts (not more than 0.5 mm wide in the middle part) and rugulose achenes (Amaral Franco & Rocha Afonso 1976; Devesa & al. 2009). Carduus acicularis was probably accidentally introduced into Crimea in recent decades with building materials or seedlings of ornamental plants from the Mediterranean. Only two micropopulations in one area with a total number of c. 30 individuals have been found so far. However, it is possible that this species is more widely distributed, but it is easily confused with C. pycnocephalus, which often occurs on the S coast of Crimea in anthropogenic and seminatural habitats. In the coastal ruderal habitats of Goluboy Zaliv, C. acicularis grows together with C. pycnocephalus subsp. pycnocephalus. Carduus acicularis is also similar in habit to and can be confused with Tyrimnus leucographus (L.) Cass., which was recently found in SW Crimea (Seregin & al. 2015).

L. E. Ryff

Fig. 6.

Carduus acicularis – A: flowering plant; B: capitulum; C: achene. – D: C. acicularis (left), C. pycnocephalus subsp. pycnocephalus (right), mature capitula. – E: C. acicularis (left), Carduus pycnocephalus subsp. pycnocephalus (right), achenes. – A–C: Crimea, Goluboy Zaliv, Jun 2023; D, E: ibid., 30 Jun 2023 (collected 28 Jun 2023), photographs by L. E. Ryff.

Hieracium umbrosum subsp. abietinum (Boiss. & Heldr.) Greuter (≡ H. vulgatum var. abietinum Boiss. & Heldr. ≡ H. vulgatum subsp. abietinum (Boiss. & Heldr.) Fr. ≡ H. abietinum (Boiss. & Heldr.) Boiss. ≡ H. umbrosum [subsp. umbrosum] var. abietinum (Boiss. & Heldr.) Zahn) + Rm: Romania: Banat, Băile Herculane [Herkulesbad], “Im Buchenwald um Suskului”, 24 Jun 1905, Schröter (ZT-00275378). – As shown in the synonymy, the taxonomic position of this Greek taxon has often changed. The rank adopted by Zahn is obviously undervalued for this remarkable taxon with its nearly circular basal leaves. Besides in Greece, it was recently detected in S Italy (Gottschlich & al. 2017) and is thereby an interesting case for an amphi-Adriatic range.

G. Gottschlich

Crassulaceae

Sedum sediforme (≡ Petrosedum sediforme (Jacq.) Grulich) A Uk: Ukraine: Odesa Oblast, Odesa Raion, upper reaches of Khadzhybey estuary, 46.690551°N, 30.392068°E, limestone slopes, spontaneous colony with an area of c. 0.03 ha, 1 Oct 2022, Kalashnik (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/178887319); ibid, 18 Jun 2023, Kalashnik (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/178888664). – New for the continental part of Ukraine as a casual alien, of Mediterranean origin, escaped from cultivation. Spontaneous seed dispersal was also noted in the Odesa Botanical Garden, 18 Sep 2017, Shynder (obs.). The species is already listed as naturalized in Crimea (Yena 2012). It is cultivated very rarely in Ukraine.

K. Kalashnik & O. Shynder

Fig. 7.

Euphorbia serrata, inflorescence. – Greece, Argolis, Limnes to Angelokastro, 19 May 2023, photograph by Ute Bergmeier.

Cyperaceae

Carex umbrosa Host subsp. umbrosa

+ Mk: North Macedonia: Pelagonia region, Nidže Planina, Dobro Pole peak, 41.05056°N, 21.88349°E, 1100 m, 14 Jun 1916, Mrkvicka (SOM 10 401, 10 411), det. B. Davidov. – Not previously recorded from North Macedonia, according to Jiménez-Mejías & Luceño (2011+). The species is not mentioned in the published Reliquiae mrkvičkanae of Velenovský (1922: 22). The collector, Jan Mrkvicka, an officer in the Bulgarian army, was killed in World War I on 17 Aug 1916 near the Grazhden peak which is situated SW of the North Macedonian Dobro Pole peak. Mrkvicka was buried in the village of Gradeshnitsa eventually. He could certainly not have crossed enemy lines to collect this plant on Greek territory. However, C. umbrosa subsp. umbrosa is also known to occur directly S of the Greek-North Macedonian border, in a shallow depression known under the similar toponym of Dobro Polje (Kali Pediada), where it grows in swampy open meadows over micaceous schist, partly with Sphagnum mosses and stagnant water (Strid 2006: 727).

D. Dimitrov

Carex viridula Michx. (= C. serotina Mérat)

+ Mk: North Macedonia: Southwest region, Mt Jablanica, E slope of Sliva peak, 1200 m, swamp near spring, 14 Jul 1948, Kitanov (SOM 171731), det. D. Dimitrov. – Jiménez-Mejías & Luceño (2011+) did not report this species for North Macedonia. Bornmüller (1928), who collected intensively in what is today North Macedonia, did not observe this taxon which is, however, known to occur in adjacent Albania (Barina & al. 2018: 143, as C. serotina), N Greece (Dimopoulos & al. 2013: 89) and Bulgaria (Assyov & al. 2012: 121, as C. serotina).

D. Dimitrov

Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbia serrata L. – Fig. 7.

+ Gr: Greece: Peloponnisos, Argolis, Municipality of Mykines, between Limnes and Angelokastro, 37°44.307′N 22°56.860′E, 770 m, arable field, 19 May 2023, Bergmeier 23-252 (herb. Bergmeier). – Only two plants of the species were found in the surveyed field, which was traditionally cultivated with barley and oats. The weed vegetation was very species-rich, the most abundant wild plants being Bi-fora testiculata (L.) Spreng., Dasypyrum villosum (L.) P. Candargy, Neslia apiculata C. A. Mey., Papaver rhoeas L., Ranunculus arvensis L., Rhagadiolus stellatus (L.) Gaertn., Valerianella echinata (L.) DC., Veronica glauca subsp. peloponnesiaca (Boiss. & Orph.) Maire & Petitm. and Vicia striata M. Bieb., among many others. Euphorbia serrata is widely distributed in the W and C Mediterranean, where it occurs in species-rich cereal fields on base-rich soils (see, e.g., Nezadal 1989). The occurrence in S Greece should be considered native, because there was no incidence of recent casual introductions in the field and its surroundings, and the seeds of the cereals are domestic.

E. Bergmeier

Gentianaceae

Blackstonia acuminata (W. D. J. Koch & Ziz) Domin (≡ Chlora acuminata W. D. J. Koch & Ziz = B. perfoliata subsp. serotina (Rchb.) Vollm.) – Fig. 8.

+ Ag: Algeria: Skikda, Skikda city, cité Zeramna, 36°51′23″N, 06°55′13″E, 90 m, clayey and rocky N-facing slope in suburban environment, 15 May & 2 Jun 2021; 27 May, 11 Jun & 6 Jul 2022, Saci (photos [Fig. 8]), det. E. Véla. – This is the first confirmed record of Blackstonia acuminata in Algeria, more precisely in the former province of Constantine; see following entry.

E. Véla & A. Saci

Blackstonia perfoliata (L.) Huds. (≡ Chlora perfoliata L.)

– Ag: The first surveys of the genus Blackstonia Huds. (≡ Chlora Adans.) in N Africa during the 18^th century (Poiret 1789: 158; Desfontaines 1798: 327) only refer to B. perfoliata sensu lato (as C. perfoliata). After the description of B. grandiflora (Viv.) Pau by Viviani (1830: 4, as C. grandiflora), the Algerian floras only considered that taxon (Munby 1847: 40; 1859: 21; 1866: 23). At the end of the 19^th century, Battandier (1890: 590, as C. perfoliata) reintroduced the name B. perfoliata for Algeria, however with doubt, saying “des échantillons de la province de Constantine m'ont paru s'y rapporter”. Nevertheless Julien (1894: 186) accepted B. perfoliata (as C. perfoliata) for Algeria in addition to the common B. grandiflora. Battandier (1890: 590) claimed the occurrence of B. perfoliata also for Tunisia, but Bonnet & Barratte (1896: 288, as C. imperfoliata L. f.) argued that the latter record concerned B. imperfoliata (L. f.) Samp. Accordingly, Battandier & Trabut (1905: 228) then accepted B. imperfoliata as the second species for Tunisia, but not for Algeria where they considered only the occurrence of B. grandiflora. Battandier (1910: 63) also confirmed B. imperfoliata for Tunisia, but considered B. perfoliata to be deleted from the flora of Algeria. On the contrary, Quézel & Santa (1963: 741) reconsidered, additionally to the common B. grandiflora (as B. perfoliata subsp. grandiflora (Viv.) Maire), the presence of B. perfoliata in Algeria (as B. perfoliata subsp. “eu-perfoliata” Maire). Pottier-Alapetite (1981: 699) forgot to mention the historical presence of B. imperfoliata but added B. perfoliata (subsp. “eu-perfoliata” Maire) to the flora of Tunisia, based on three collections (two from herself and one from Cuénod). Finally, Le Floc'h & al. (2010: 209) reconsidered the historical presence of B. imperfoliata (as B. perfoliata subsp. imperfoliata) in Tunisia, but did not consider the possibility of any misidentification concerning B. perfoliata subsp. perfoliata. As a consequence, they accepted three Blackstonia taxa for Tunisia (followed by Marhold 2011+c). Flowering plants illustrated on the sharing network iNaturalist by one of us (AS) allowed the other (EV) to identify them as B. acuminata (W. D. J. Koch & Ziz) Domin (see preceding entry). None of the main, independent backbone databases on the N African flora gives this species for Algeria (nor Tunisia). We carried out a digital search on specimens of the genus Blackstonia from “Afrique du Nord” stored in the herbarium P, which gave 217 results ( https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/list?specificEpithet=imperfoliata&secteur=AFN& genus=Blackstonia, accessed 3 Jan 2023). Among them, 11 sheets from the Canaries, Morocco and Tunisia (but none from Algeria) are correctly sorted under B. imperfoliata, 133 sheets from all three N African countries are correctly sorted under B. grandiflora and 72 sheets are sorted under “B. perfoliata”; only seven of them, all from Morocco, effectively concern B. perfoliata s.str., a further three from Morocco fall within the variability of B. acuminata, whereas the majority shows specimens of B. grandiflora from all three countries (mostly labelled “subsp./var. grandiflora”). As a consequence, we cannot confirm any specimen of B. perfoliata s.str. from Algeria, and this taxon should therefore be retracted from the national checklist.

E. Véla & A. Saci

Fig. 8.

Blackstonia acuminata – A: flower; B: inflorescence. – A: Algeria, Skikda, cité Zeramna, 15 May 2021; B: ibid., 2 Jun 2021, photographs by A. Saci.

Fig. 9.

Eleusine indica – A: flowering plants; B: inflorescence. – A, B: Crimea, Yalta, 8 Jul 2023, photographs by L. E. Ryff.

Gramineae (Poaceae)

Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn. (≡ Cynosurus indicus L.) – Fig. 9.

A Cm: Crimea: Yalta, Ignatenko Street, cracks between paving slabs, asphalt cracks, sidewalks, bases of walls of buildings, 44°29′49″N, 34°10′18″E, 10 m, 1 Jul 2023, Ryff (YALT); ibid., 8 Jul 2023, Ryff (YALT + photo); ibid., Radina square, 44°29′47″N, 34°10′21″E, 11 m, 21 Aug 2023, Ryff (YALT); ibid., Komsomol'skaya square, 44°29′51″N, 34°10′22″E, 15 m, 21 Aug 2023, Ryff (YALT + photo); ibid., Moskovskaya Street, 44°29′53″N, 34°10′13″E, 10 m, 21 Aug 2023, Ryff (photo). – This species is widespread in tropical and warm-temperate zones of the world. It is native to S, SE and SW Asia and Africa (except N Africa). Information about its status, whether native or alien, in the E Mediterranean and Caucasus is conflicting. In the rest of its range, including Europe, Eleusine indica is an alien species. In the Euro+Med PlantBase (Valdés & Scholz 2009+) it is given for Ukraine, taken from the Vascular plants of Ukraine (Mosyakin & Fedoronchuk 1999). However, this publication clearly states that E. indica was collected once in Kyiv in 1991, but subsequently its population disappeared (Mosyakin & Shevera 1993; Mosyakin & Fedoronchuk 1999). There are no more recent records of this species in Ukraine (Shevera, pers. comm.). Eleusine indica has not been previously reported for the flora of Crimea (Yena 2012). It was accidentally introduced to Yalta, apparently several years ago, most likely from the Caucasus, either by road transport or with building materials when laying new paving slabs. Now E. indica is actively spreading in various anthropogenic habitats in the area of its initial introduction in the centre of the city. The population includes c. 1000 individuals and occupies an area of c. 0.25 km², its density is up to 10–20 plants per m². Eleusine indica forms monodominant groups or grows in a weed community with Amaranthus deflexus L., A. retroflexus L., Chenopodiastrum murale (L.) S. Fuentes & al., Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop., Eragrostis minor Host, Erigeron canadensis L., E. sumatrensis Retz., Poa annua L., Polygonum aviculare L., Portulaca oleracea L. s.l., Setaria viridis (L.) P. Beauv., Symphyotrichum squamatum (Spreng.) G. L. Nesom and other ruderal plants. Currently, E. indica is only locally distributed in Crimea and can be considered as a casual alien. But this species is considered one of the most problematic weeds worldwide (Holm & al. 1991) due to its invasive behaviour and rapid spread. Therefore, we can expect its further expansion in Crimea.

L. E. Ryff

Elytrigia atherica (Link) Kerguélen (≡ Elymus athericus (Link) Kerguélen = Elymus pycnanthus (Godr.) Melderis) – Fig. 10.

+ Cm: Crimea: Sevastopol, Kruglaya Bay (Omega Bay), 44°35′43″N, 33°26′54″E, 1 m, sea shore, 2 Aug 2014, Yevseyenkov (photos:  https://www.plantarium.ru/page/image/id/400093.html [Fig. 10A],  https://www.plantarium.ru/page/image/id/400094.html [Fig. 10C],  https://www.plantarium.ru/page/image/id/400095.html); ibid., 13 Jun 2018, Yevseyenkov (photo:  https://www.plantarium.ru/page/image/id/594550.html); ibid., Kamyshovaya Bay, 44°34′23.34″N,33°25′34.82″E,seashore,26Mar2020,Yev-seyenkov (photo:  https://www.plantarium.ru/page/image /id/649618.html); ibid., Kruglaya Bay, 44°35′43″N, 33°26′54″E, 1–2 m, sea shore, 19 Jul 2020, Ryff (photo); ibid., 19 Jul 2020, Ryff, Yevseyenkov & Kudrinskaya (YALT); ibid., Kamyshovaya Bay, 44°34′23″N, 33°25′39″E, 1 m, sea shore, 19 Jul 2020, Ryff, Yevseyenkov & Kudrinskaya (YALT); ibid., Kazachya Bay, 44°34′08″N, 33°24′49″E, 1 m, sea shore, 19 Jul 2020, Ryff, Yevseyenkov & Kudrinskaya (YALT); ibid., Streletskaya Bay, 44°35′39″N, 33°28′06″E, 2–3 m, sea coast, 19 Jul 2020, Ryff, Yevseyenkov & Kudrinskaya (YALT). – This is a characteristic plant of sea shores. The taxonomy of the group of couch grass, united by the common English name sea couch (Elymus pungens (Pers.) Melderis, Elymus pycnanthus (Godr.) Melderis, Elytrigia atherica and Thinopyrum acutum (DC.) Banfi), is very confusing and requires further study. In the present note we adhere to the concept adopted in the Euro+Med PlantBase (Valdés & Scholz 2009+) and consider the plants we found under the name Elytrigia atherica. This species is native to the Mediterranean, W and C Europe, and the Black Sea coast of Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania (Ciocârlan 1994, 2011; Valdés & Scholz 2009+; Doroftei & al. 2011; Assyov & al. 2012; POWO 2023). In the Black Sea region it is rare and therefore it is included (as Elymus pycnanthus (Godr.) Melderis) in the Red List of Bulgarian vascular plants and the Red Book of the Black Sea (Dumont 1999; Petrova & Vladimirov 2009). For E Europe, sea couch is indicated as an alien species based on a single herbarium specimen from 1859 from an unknown collector from Kotlin island (city of Kronstadt) in the Gulf of Finland near Saint Petersburg. This find was cited in different sources under different names: Elytrigia pungens (Pers.) Tutin (Tzvelev 1964), Elymus pycnanthus (Melderis 1985) or Elytrigia atherica (Tzvelev 2006). For the Baltic region, hybrids with the formula E. pycnanthus × Elytrigia repens (L.) Nevski are mentioned (Tzvelev 1964; Melderis 1980). To date, such plants have disappeared from the vicinity of Kronstadt (Tzvelev & Probatova 2019), and there is no current information from the Baltic countries. In S Ukraine, sea couch was found in 1868 near the coast of the Tiligul estuary, and there is a relevant herbarium specimen in BRNU, identified as Triticum pungens Pers. (GBIF 2023). However, in Vascular plants of Ukraine (Mosyakin & Fedoronchuk 1999) this species is not indicated for the territory of the country. In Crimea, sea couch was first found by one of us (PY) in 2014 in the Kruglaya Bay of the Black Sea in the city of Sevastopol. Subsequently, the same plants were identified by PEY and AYK along the shores of other bays of Sevastopol – Kamyshovaya, Kazachya and Streletskaya. Their photos were shown in Plantarium (2007–2023), but the identification of the plant caused difficulties. It was assumed that this was ×Agrotrigia hajastanica (Tzvelev) Tzvelev – a rare intergeneric hybrid of Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn. s.l. × Elytrigia repens (Seregin & al. 2015). However, a more careful study convinced us that the plants from Sevastopol are identical with Elytrigia atherica from the Mediterranean. As in other areas of its range, in Sevastopol this species grows exclusively along the seashore. It forms a pure sward or communities of the class Juncetea maritimi Br.-Bl. in Br.-Bl. & al. 1952 together with Elytrigia elongata (Host) Nevski, E. repens, Phragmites australis (Cav.) Steud. and some other species. Without doubt, this is a species native to the flora of Crimea and, accordingly, E Europe.

L. E. Ryff, P. E. Yevseyenkov & A. Y. Kudrinskaya

Fig. 10.

Elytrigia atherica – A: flowering plants; B: spike in flower; C: spike in fruit. – A, C: Crimea, Sevastopol, 2 Aug 2014; B: ibid., 16 Jul 2020, photographs by P. E. Yevseyenkov.

Iridaceae

Iris foetidissima L.

N Cm: Crimea: Urban District Yalta, Nizhnyaya Oreanda, 44.46412°N, 34.146639°E, forest, 5 Sep 2003, Levon (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/67905405); ibid., Foros, Forossky Park, mature individuals with seedlings, 30 Dec 2012, Gayvoronskaya (photo:  https://www.plantarium.ru/lang/en/page/image/id/170042.html; Gayvoronskaya 2013); Miskhor, Miskhorsky park, near stream, escaped, 7 Nov 2020, Zorina (photo: https://www.plantarium.ru/lang/en/page/image/id/760954.html; Plantarium 2023); ibid., surroundings of Nikita, 44°30′56″N, 34°14′03″E, 230 m, disturbed ash-oak forest, 7 Jun 2023, Sadogurskiy (photo); ibid., 11 Jul 2023, Ryff (YALT); ibid., Magarach, 44°30′31″N, 34°13′06″E, 125 m, disturbed ash-oak forest, 25 Jul 2023, Ryff (YALT). – This species is native to W Europe and the W Mediterranean (Euro+Med 2006+). Iris foetidissima is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant and sometimes escapes from cultivation. Now it is naturalized in many regions of the world, especially in North America and Australia (Randall 2017; GBIF 2023; POWO 2023). It has been grown for a long time in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden and in other parks as well as in private gardens along the S coast of Crimea. For the first time in the region, escaped plants of I. foetidissima (erroneously determined as I. musulmanica Fomin; see following entry) were revealed by the first author in the eastern, abandoned edge of the Massandrovsky Park in Yalta in the second half of the 1980s. Numerous plants of I. foetidissima, together with another adventive species, Daphne laureola L., grow there in a dense shibljak of Carpinus orientalis Mill. and Quercus pubescens Willd, in a ground vegetation layer of Hedera helix L. In 2022, a spontaneously sprouted plant of this species was found near the settlement of Nikita, approximately 500 m apart from the cultivated population in the Verkhniy Park of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. In 2023, a population of I. foetidissima in the vicinity of Magarach was examined in detail. Evidently, the population has been growing spontaneously in this place for several decades. To date, it occupies an area of about 200 m² and has more than 20 individual clones of different age, of which at least three are generative; they bloom and bear fruit and reproduce by seeds and vegetatively. The largest clones reach 2 m in diam. and consist of 10–15 elementary individuals. Flowering time is in the middle of June. The population grows not far from a stream, in the lowland and on adjacent slopes in a disturbed Quercus-Fraxinus forest. It forms a plant community with Brachypodium sylvaticum (Huds.) P. Beauv., Clematis vitalba L., Hedera helix L., Rubus caesius L., Ruscus aculeatus L., Solanum dulcamara L. and other mesophytic species. Iris foetidissima is known from a few localities in S Crimea and its populations are small. It persists in the natural flora for a long period, at least more than 30 years, successfully reproducing and spreading by seeds, slowly expanding its range. The species is therefore considered to have become naturalized in Crimea.

A. V. Yena & L. E. Ryff

Iris spuria subsp. musulmanica (Fomin) Takht. (≡ I. musulmanica Fomin)

– N Cm: This name has been erroneously applied to two different taxa of Iris L. that occur in Crimea. Firstly, it concerns alien Iris plants naturalized in Yalta, on the S coast of Crimea, and originally given for the Crimean flora at the very end of the 20^th century (Didukh & Yena 1999). Later the same name was included in the annotated checklist of the regional spontaneous flora (Yena 2012) and mentioned with reference to that monograph in the Euro+Med-Checklist Notulae, 16 (Svirin & Kashirina 2023). According to the taxonomic re-examination of those plants, I. spuria subsp. musulmanica is to be excluded from the Crimean flora and all records for this region mentioned here refer to I. foetidissima L. (see preceding entry). Secondly, the name I. spuria subsp. musulmanica was also misapplied to a herbarium specimen in MW collected in the Sevastopol area on 30 May 2012 (Seregin 2023), which turned out to belong to the autochthonous I. halophila Pall. (Svirin & Kashirina 2023). This error is also mirrored in the occurrence data for I. spuria subsp. musulmanica provided by GBIF (2023); the locality on the Gerakleysky Peninsula in Crimea shown there refers in fact to I. halophila.

A. V. Yena

Labiatae (Lamiaceae)

Pseudodictamnus mediterraneus subsp. lycius (Hub.-Mor.) Raus, comb. nov. ≡ Ballota pseudodictamnus subsp. lycia Hub.-Mor. in Bauhinia 2: 203. 1963. – From a phylogenetic analysis based on nuclear and plastid DNA sequences representing all genera of the tribe Marrubieae, Siadati & al. (2018) revealed the necessity of splitting the genus Ballota L., in its traditional concept, into two well-supported clades matching well with the genera Ballota s.str. (2 or 3 species, with calyx limb regularly dentate, 5-toothed) and Pseudodictamnus Fabr. (13 species, with calyx limb undulate or crenate or irregularly dentate with 10 to many teeth). In this context, 13 new names and combinations in Pseudodictamnus at specific rank were proposed, among them P. mediterraneus Salmaki & Siadati (Siadati & al. 2018: 779), known as Ballota pseudodictamnus (L.) Benth. in previous floristic literature. This is an E Mediterranean geoelement with its nominate subspecies P. mediterraneus subsp. mediterraneus (≡ B. pseudodictamnus subsp. pseudodictamnus) distributed in the S Aegean area (Crete and Andikithira, see Strid 2016: 537, map 2116), extending to opposite N Africa (Cyrenaica, Patzak 1959: 52; POWO 2023), and a second subspecies occurring in SW Asia (Stapf 1885: 41; Davis & Doroszenko 1982: 157–158), originally described as B. pseudodictamnus subsp. lycia Hub.-Mor., which differs mainly by its larger calyx limb with more prominently mucronate teeth (Huber-Morath 1963: 203). For the latter, a still lacking name under Pseudodictamnus is proposed here.

Th. Raus

Stachys obliqua Waldst. & Kit.

+ Mk: North Macedonia: Southwest region, Mt Jablanica, E slope of Vokari peak, 1400 m, limestone, 24 Jul 1948, Kitanov (SOM 177 242), det. D. Dimitrov. – New to North Macedonia. The species is not mentioned or keyed out in the Labiatae treatment of the most recent flora of the country (Matevski 2021).

D. Dimitrov

Leguminosae (Fabaceae)

Lathyrus cassius Boiss. – Fig. 11A, B.

+ Bu: Bulgaria: Thracian lowland, Haskovo district, 1.5 km NE of Simeonovgrad town, 19 Jun 2021, Mátis & Miholcsa (obs.); ibid., 42.04326°N, 25.84557°E, 90 m, dry grasslands among sparse Paliurus spina-christi Mill. scrub, 15 Jun 2023, Stoyanov & Marinov (SOM 178626); ibid., 42.04386°N, 25.84665°E, 15 Jun 2023, Stoyanov & Marinov (SOM 178627, SOM 178628). – This is the first record of Lathyrus cassius from Bulgaria. Up to now, Lathyrus L. was represented by 30 species in the Bulgarian flora (Kožuharov 1976; Tosheva 2005). Lathyrus cassius, an E Mediterranean element, was known only from SW Asia (Anatolia and the Levant) until a few years ago (Davis 1970). It was recently reported for the first time for the European flora, from Edirne Province in European Turkey (Güneş & Çırpıcı 2015). The Bulgarian locality of L. cassius is about 160 km N of the one from near Edirne and therefore now represents the northernmost outpost of the range of the species. Among the Bulgarian members of the genus, L. cassius is closely related to L. annuus L. The latter is a circum-mediterranean species, growing sympatrically with the former but in more humid, more or less scrubby habitats. Morphologically, the two species are well distinguished. Lathyrus cassius has pale pink flowers and its peduncles, calyx teeth and legumes are covered with more or less dense, sessile glands, whereas L. annuus shows yellow to orange-yellow flowers, without or with only a few, sparse glands (Fig. 11C, D). Furthermore, the legumes of L. cassius are 28–35 mm long, whereas those of L. annuus are 40–80 mm long (Davis 1970). The two species also differ significantly in phenology: L. annuus blooms in the second half of May, whereas L. cassius a month later. The population of L. cassius occupies the S slope of a small hill NE of Simeonovgrad town and consists of about 100 individuals. The species grows in dry grasslands dominated by Aegilops speltoides Tausch and Hordeum bulbosum L., alongside other typical Mediterranean or submediterranean species such as Bituminaria bituminosa (L.) C. H. Stirt., Bupleurum odontites L., Convolvulus betonicifolius Mill., Cota tinctoria (L.) J. Gay, Cruciata pedemontana (Bellardi) Ehrend., Crupina vulgaris Cass., Echinops microcephalus Sm., Linum trigynum L., Pimpinella peregrina L., Polygala monspeliaca L., Rumex tuberosus L., Rapistrum rugosum (L.) All., Stachys obliqua Waldst. & Kit., Teucrium capitatum L., Ziziphora capitata L. Due to extensive grazing, ruderal plants such as Bromus arvensis L., Cephalaria transsylvanica (L.) Roem. & Schult., Ononis spinosa L., Eryngium campestre L., Phleum paniculatum Huds. and Xeranthemum cylindraceum Sm. were also abundant in the grasslands.

A. Mátis, Z. Miholcsa, Y. Marinov & S. Stoyanov

Malvaceae

Hibiscus syriacus L.

A Uk: Ukraine: Cherkasy Oblast, Cherkasy city, 49.425286°N, 32.054533°E, spontaneous seedlings near flower beds, 21 Aug 2022, Chorna & Shynder (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/148261389); Umancity,48.750379°N,30.223615°E,youngplantsalong edges of sidewalks in several places, 1 Jul 2023, Chorna (obs.); Chernivtsi city, 48.287608°N, 25.936161°E, Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, several self-sowing plants along sidewalk, 2–3 years old, 5 Jan 2023, Shynder (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/155428815); Kyiv City, 50.41437°N, 30.561165°E, M. M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden, plants of various ages (including flowering ones) in cracks of paths and foundations of buildings, spontaneous, 12 Apr 2020, Shynder (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/143890294); ibid, 29 Sep 2020, Shynder (KWHA 102587); Kyiv Oblast, Bila Tserkva city, square near railway station, several young plants (2–3 years old) in cracks along edge of sidewalk, 49.811361°N, 30.108871°E, 12 Aug 2023, Doiko (BCK s.n.); Odesa city, 46.404526°N, 30.751991°E, self-sown in flower beds and on sides of sidewalks and roads, 26 Sep 2022, Shynder (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/155382645); Ternopil Oblast, Ternopil city, 49.562659°N, 25.594468°E, along edges of sidewalks in several places, 23 Jul 2023, Shynder (obs.); Chortkiv city, plants spreading beyond flower gardens, 1–15 Jul 2023, Sobolenko (obs.); Zakarpattia Oblast, Mukachevo Raion, Svalyava city, 48.549765°N, 22.982052°E, a generative plant in crack in sidewalk along central street, 30 Aug 2022, Shynder (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/155429219); ibid., Berehove city, territory of B. Linner Berehove District Hospital, near central entrance, near place of culture, several self-sown plants, 28 Aug 2022, Shevera & Shynder (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/152538461); Berehove city, 48.204664°N, 22.633318°E, several 2–3 year old plants along walls and edges of sidewalks, 28 Aug 2022, Shevera & Shynder (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/152384970); Berehove city, 48.217651°N, 22.645113°E, spontaneous group of mature plants on roadside, 1 Sep 2022, Shynder & Shevera (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/152491353); ibid., Uzhhorod city, spontaneous in undergrowth of Botanical Garden of Uzhhorod National University, 15 Jul 2022, Shevera (obs.); ibid, flower embankment between Botanical Garden of Uzhhorod National University (where species is cultivated) and Uzhhorod children railway, escaped, 16 Sep 2022, Shevera (obs.). – A shrubby species of E Asian origin. Nowadays, it is often used for decorative gardening almost throughout Ukraine, but 20–30 years ago it was almost never grown in the N regions due to its low winter hardiness. New for the continental part of Ukraine as a casual alien, escaped from cultivation.

M. Shevera, O. Shynder, H. Chorna & N. Doiko

Fig. 11.

A, B: Lathyrus cassius; A: flowers; B: young legume. – C, D: L. annuus; C: flowers; D: young legume. – A: Bulgaria, Simeonovgrad, 19 Jun 2021, photograph by A. Mátis; B: ibid., 15 Jun 2023; C, D: ibid., 22 May 2023, photographs by S. Stoyanov.

Fig. 12.

Alien Eucalyptus species in Tunisia – A, B: E. botryoides; A: flaky-fibrous grey bark; B: cylindric fruits. – C–E: E. cylindrocarpa; C: basal part of planted individual with flaky bark and two juvenile individuals of different age; D: cylindric buds with conic operculum; E: flowers and ovoid fruits. – F, G: E. gomphocephala; F: subfibrous fissured bark; G: cylindric to ovoid fruits. – A, B: Tunisia, Jendouba, Aïn Draham, Babouch to Tabarka, 15 Oct 2022; C–E: ibid., Monastir, Jemmal to Touza, 20 Sep 2022; F, G: ibid., Bizerta, Sidi Salem to Nadhour, 1 Oct 2022, photographs by R. El Mokni.

Myrtaceae

Eucalyptus botryoides Sm. – Fig. 12A, B.

A Tn: Tunisia: Jendouba, Aïn Draham, road from Babouch toward Tabarka, 36°48′46″N, 08°40′43″E, 485 m, escaped on roadsides, 15 Oct 2022, El Mokni (herb. Univ. Monastir). – Aiming at updating the list of alien Myrtaceae in Tunisia (see, e.g., El Mokni 2021), Eucalyptus botryoides is reported here from the Kroumirian mixed oak forest in NW Tunisia as a casual alien species new for the adventitious flora of Tunisia and Africa (see APD 2023). The species is native to SE Australia (Victoria, New South Wales); in the Mediterranean region, it is reported as a casual alien only in Italy, Sardinia, Sicily and Malta, and as cultivated in Portugal (Raab-Straube 2022+).

R. El Mokni

Eucalyptus cylindrocarpa Blakely – Fig. 12C–E.

A Tn: Tunisia: Monastir, road from Jemmal toward Touza, 35°37′46″N, 10°48′29″E, 1–2 m, escaped on roadsides, 20 Sep 2022, El Mokni (herb. Univ. Monastir). – A casual alien species new for the adventitious flora of Tunisia, Africa and the Mediterranean area. Eucalyptus cylindrocarpa (Austin 1960: 102, sheet 40) is restricted to W Australia (POWO 2023) and has not been recorded beyond its native range before, except in the Americas (Raab-Straube (2022+; APD 2023; GBIF 2023). In the Euro+Med region, the species is known to occur only in Tunisia, where it was successfully introduced and escaped into the Touza region. For identification and more details, see Chippendale (1988: 310).

R. El Mokni

Eucalyptus gomphocephala DC. – Fig. 12F, G.

A Tn: Tunisia: Bizerta, road from Sidi Salem toward Nadhour, 37°17′13″N, 09°52′20″E, 7–10 m, escaped on roadsides, 1 Oct 2022, El Mokni (herb. Univ. Monastir); Jendouba, Ghar Dimaou, El Ghorra, Aïn gampho, 36°35′16″N, 08°23′30″E, 1000 m, 6 Jul 2022, El Mokni (herb. Univ. Monastir); Monastir (Monastir city), 35°45′50″N, 10°49′38″E, 12–15 m, roadsides and under walls of buildings, 29 Oct 2020, El Mokni (herb. Univ. Monastir). – A casual alien species new for the adventitious flora of Tunisia and Africa. Eucalyptus gomphocephala is an evergreen tree up to 40 m tall native to W Australia. As many species of the genus, it has been widely introduced around the world and can be found in cultivation used for wood production, windbreakers, stabilization of sands near the sea shore and afforestation and also as an important tree for honey production. In the Mediterranean the taxon is reported as a casual alien in Sardinia and Sicily (Galasso & al. 2018) and introduced in Spain, whereas only as cultivated for Morocco, Italy and Cyprus (Raab-Straube 2022+). For Africa, the taxon is cited with “unknown status” only from Morocco, Tunisia and Libya (see, e.g., Greuter & Domina 2015: 45; APD 2023). The actual status of E. gomphocephala in Tunisia and N Africa is defined here as casual alien. Three distant sporadic subpopulations of few juvenile individuals of different ages have been observed growing not far apart from successful introductions in the regions of Bizerta, Jendouba and Monastir.

R. El Mokni

Oleaceae

Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. oxycarpa (Willd.) Franco & Rocha Afonso (≡ F. oxycarpa Willd.)

A Uk: Ukraine: Kirovohrad Oblast, Kropyvnytskyi city, near Kovalivsky Park, 48.517684°N, 32.261230°E, young plants in cracks of pavement, 22 Jul 2023, Shynder (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/181019035); Kyiv City, 50.40998°N, 30.56021°E, M. M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden, Caucasus and Crimea plots, in plantations and spontaneously, 19 Sep 2022, Shynder (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/135759608); Mykolaiv Oblast, Voznesensk Raion, 47.565823°N, 31.85712°E, sporadically on side of highway, spontaneous offspring in roadside plantings, 9 Oct 2022, Shynder (obs.); Odesa Oblast, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion, W vicinity of Mayaky village, 46.4185°N, 30.175°E, along highway, a spontaneously established young tree, 20 Jun 2019, Shynder (KWHA 102712); ibid., 46.437651°N, 30.191667°E, young self-sown tree, 23 Sep 2022, Shynder (KW s.n.); ibid., 46.418578°N, 30.175048°E, 24 Sep 2022, Shynder (KWHA 102489); ibid., 46.411699°N, 30.166699°E, group of trees along edge of reed swamp, 24 Sep 2022, Shynder (KWHA 102490); Odesa city, near Sport Palace, 46.446450°N, 30.758812°E, young tree weedy among Juniperus sabina L. plantation, 16 Sep 2022, Shynder (obs.); Odesa city, 46.445978°N, 30.763767°E, Botanical Garden of I. I. Mechnykov Odesa National University, new territory, mature tree in plantations with spontaneous offspring, 16 Sep 2022, Shynder & Levchuk (KW s.n.; photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/150573368,  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/150573365); Odesa city, 46.384336°N, 30.749836°E, on slope above seashore, mature planted trees with scattered young spontaneous offspring, 24 Sep 2022, Shynder (KW s.n.; photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/181061258); Vinnytsia Oblast, Bershad city, 48.360249°N, 29.523069°E, between slabs along embankment near park, dense self-sown seedlings, 14 Aug 2023, Shynder (KWHA 103173); Zakarpattia Oblast, Berehove city, spontaneous growth in old cemetery, 29 Aug 2022, Shynder & Shevera (KW s.n.); ibid., Berehove, 48.211269°N, 22.657157°E, spontaneous growth on side of road near old estate, 29 Aug 2022, Shynder & Shevera (KW s.n.). – The native range of this tree is submediterranean, including S Crimea. However, this taxon is listed as indigenous also for the continental part of Ukraine (Raab-Straube 2022+), based on Prokudin (1987), where exact original data are missing. Therefore, we checked the existing information and found no original data on the natural occurrence of Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. oxycarpa in the continental part of Ukraine – this taxon is either not mentioned at all, or indicated only as a cultivated plant, or general statements are given that cannot be verified. Our indications are the first specifying the status of this subspecies as a casual alien in the continental part of Ukraine, where is has escaped from cultivation in several places given above.

O. Shynder, M. Levchuk & M. Shevera

Onagraceae

Ludwigia brevipes (Britton & al.) Eames (≡ Ludwigiantha brevipes Britton & al.) – Fig. 13.

A Cm: Crimea: Sevastopol, coast of Streletskaya Bay, 44°35′37″N, 33°28′11″E, 1 m, wasteland on ruins of ancient manor, 1 Sep 2022, Yevseyenkov (photo:  https://www.plantarium.ru/page/image/id/741947.html); ibid., 4 Sep 2022, Yevseyenkov (photo:  https://www.plantarium.ru/page/image/id/742251.html); ibid., 20 Sep 2022, Yevseyenkov (photo:  https://www.plantarium.ru/page/image/id/744223.html); ibid., 20 Sep 2022, Svirin (photos:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/153577017 as L. repens J. R. Forst.); ibid., 28 Sep 2023, Yevseyenkov (YALT; photo:  https://www.plantarium.ru/page/image/id/781950.html). – The native range of Ludwigia brevipes is SE North America (POWO 2023). Its natural habitats are shores of seasonal ponds and shallow waterbodies, marshes, moist dune hollows and edges of impoundments and ditches. The species is widespread as an ornamental aquatic plant, especially in aquarium keeping. It is listed as an alien invasive species for Great Britain (CABI 2023). There is no information about records of L. brevipes in other European countries. In Crimea, Ludwigia was first found in 2021 by one of the authors (SAS), and in 2022 it was independently rediscovered in the same habitat by the second author (PEY). The species was originally identified as L. repens. A more thorough study showed that the plants were morphologically closer to L. brevipes, which differs from L. repens in its narrower leaf blades, larger flower parts, sepals 2–3 times longer than wide (vs approximately equally long and wide) and significantly longer fruiting pedicels. Both species belong to the same hybridogenic complex, are hexaploids and have the same genome composition (Liu & al. 2020). The plants we found have morphological and morphometric characters intermediate between typical L. brevipes and L. repens. The length: width ratio of the sepals of 2: 1. Clearly visible and persistent petals and the presence of relatively long fruiting pedicels allow us to consider the Crimean plants as L. brevipes, although it is possible that they belong to the hybrid L. brevipes × L. repens. The only known locality of this taxon in the city of Sevastopol is the territory of the archeological monument, rural estate No. 101A, of the khôra of the ancient Tauric Chersonese. The plants grow in two soil-filled pithos holes cut into the limestone rock. Currently, the population includes about 100 individuals forming dense mats and covering an area of 1–1.5 m². Ludwigia L. is a new genus for the flora of Crimea; only one species of this genus, L. palustris (L.) Elliott, is native to Europe (Raab-Straube 2018+c). The same species was considered the only representative of Ludwigia in the flora of E Europe, where it is reliably known only from Ukrainian Transcarpathia (Prokudin 1987; Skvortsov 1996). Therefore, L. brevipes is the second species of this genus in E Europe, and to our knowledge the first report of this species for mainland Europe as a whole.

S. A. Svirin, P. E. Yevseyenkov, L. E. Ryff

Orobanchaceae

Euphrasia liburnica Wettst.

+ Mk: North Macedonia: Southwest region, Mt Jablanica, slope of Beličko Bardo, 1400 m, Kitanov (SOM 171 806), det. D. Dimitrov. – Widespread in the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula but not previously reported from North Macedonia (Marhold 2011+b). Several populations of this species that occur close to the borders of North Macedonia are known from Albania (Barina 2017: 330) and Greece (Mts Varnous, Kajmakčalan, Vitek 1991: 239; Mt Tzena, Chasapis & al. 2020).

D. Dimitrov

Melampyrum scardicum Wettst. – Fig. 14.

+ Gr: Greece: E Macedonia, Nomos of Drama, Mt Falakron, c. 3 km SE of Ochiro village, 41°17′N, 23°52′E, 640 m, edges of old dirt road, with Carpinus orientalis Mill., Ostrya carpinifolia Scop., Syringa vulgaris L., 24 Jun 2022, Vidakis (obs.); ibid., 14 Jun 2023, Vidakis & Tsiftsis (IHUF). – Melampyrum scardicum is known from Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Serbia (Petrova & Vladimirov 2010). It was not reported for Greece in the previously published Vascular plants of Greece (Dimopoulos & al. 2013, 2016). In the various Balkan countries, the species presents considerable differences in its distribution. In Bulgaria the species is widespread and occurs from sea level to 2000 m (Petrova & Vladimirov 2010; Assyov & Petrova 2012), whereas in Albania it is rather rare, confined to high-elevation areas of 1900–2200 m (Barina 2017). In Greece, M. scardicum has so far been found only in a very small area, which is threatened by extensive marble quarrying.

S. Tsiftsis & K. Vidakis

Orobanche litorea Guss.

+ Ma: Morocco: not far from Bouznika, 33.840538°N, 07.108651°W, sandy areas covered with vegetation behind dunes, 8 Apr 2010, Pils (obs., photo; see also Pils 2022: 407, as O. artemisiae-campestris Gaudin). – After El Mokni & al. (2015: 8) and particularly Rätzel & al. (2018: 207 ff.) clarified the status of this species, which is presumably related to O. minor Sm. or O. artemisiae-campestris, O. litorea is better recognized as an independent species (see also El Mokni & Domina 2019) and has been reported or photographed more often, even if sometimes under a false name. This species was previously not known to occur in Morocco. The finding extends the range of O. litorea Guss. along the N African coast far to the west.

H. Uhlich, S. Rätzel & G. Pils

Fig. 13.

Ludwigia brevipes – A: flowering branches; B: flower; C: fruiting branch. – A: Crimea, Sevastopol, 1 Sep 2022; B: ibid., 20 Sep 2022, photographs by P. E. Yevseyenkov; C: ibid., 20 Sep 2022, photograph by S. A. Svirin.

Orobanche teucrii Holandre

+ Gr: Greece: W Macedonia, Kozani, S Velventos, 557 m, deciduous forest, 1 May 2019, Willing & Willing 295688 (B 10 1089280, as O. caryophyllacea Sm.). – Already in 1989, Uhlich (in Uhlich & al. 1995: 42 fig. 29, 97) found Orobanche teucrii in Bulgaria (C Pirin, descent from Premkata pass to Banderiza refuge, here f. aurea Teyber), about 45 km distant from the border with Greece. It was only a matter of time that the species would be detected for the first time also in Greece.

H. Uhlich & S. Rätzel

Orobanche variegata Wallr.

? Al: Orobanche variegata was reported for Albania by Shuka & Tan (2019) from various locations. However, the plant depicted in the published photograph is to be identified rather as O. gracilis Sm. Orobanche variegata is always a larger plant, often producing more than one stem, while its corolla is almost always uniformly dark red in the upper 3/4–4/5 without any yellow colour in its upper part. Moreover, the lower corolla lobe is usually larger and the thorat margins are less denticulate to subentire. Frequent misidentification of O. gracilis as O. variegata in the past lead to an alleged excessively broad distribution range of the latter taxon. Indeed, rare individuals of O. gracilis that are both robust and display an almost entirely red corolla may pose some uncertainty of identification. The same is true for single individuals with all-yellow corollas. Notwithstanding, O. variegata is a species belonging to the SW Mediterranean chorotype occurring from Morocco to Tunisia in NW Africa and having its easternmost populations in Sicily and northernmost ones in Sardinia (Sánchez Pedraja & al. 2016). In this light, it seems unlikely that O. variegata could be found also in the Balkans. The record published by Shuka & Tan (2019) could have been premature, because, according to what was written in their note, it is possible that Rätzel and Uhlich identified only one photograph, and the authors then seem to have extended this one provision to all their material.

V. Lazzeri

Fig. 14.

Melampyrum scardicum – A: flowering plant; B: inflorescence. – Greece, Mt Vrondous, 24 Jun 2022, photographs by K. Vidakis.

Oxalidaceae

Oxalis articulata Savigny (≡ Acetosella articulata (Savigny) Kuntze; = O. rubra A. St.-Hil. ≡ O. articulata subsp. rubra (A. St.-Hil.) Lourteig) – Fig. 15.

A Cm: Crimea: Vicinity of Yalta, Nikita village, 44°30′56″N, 34°14′14″E, 250 m, ruderal habitat on roadside, 7 Jun 2023, Ryff (YALT + photo). – Oxalis articulata is a tuberous geophyte. Its native range is SE South America. This species is widely in cultivation as an ornamental, food and medicine plant in all continents and often escapes (Randall 2017). Oxalis articulata is listed as an alien species for many European countries (Henning & Raab-Straube 2016+b; POWO 2023). There are no indications in the scientific literature for E Europe, but a single find is known in N Ukraine (GBIF 2023). The species was recently reported as alien in Bulgaria (Petrova & Vladimirov 2019), a neighbouring region with a similar climate to the Crimean Peninsula. In recent years O. articulata has been widely cultivated in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden and other parks, in urban landscaping and private gardens of S Crimea, where it is suggested to have escaped from cultivation (Ryff 2021). In 2023, a small population of c. 30 individuals was found in the settlement of Nikita in a ruderal habitat, associated with Hordeum murinum subsp. leporinum (Link) Arcang., Humulus lupulus L., Lepidium draba L. and Sonchus oleraceus L. Oxalis articulata has been recorded as a casual alien only in this single locality so far and does not yet show a tendency to spread, in contrast to the recently identified invasive bulb-bearing Oxalis latifolia Kunth (Ryff 2021), which is actually expanding its range in Crimea.

L. E. Ryff

Papaveraceae

Papaver atlanticum (Ball) Coss. A Uk: Ukraine: Zhytomyr Oblast, Berdychiv Raion, N vicinity of Ruzhyn town, 49.742867°N, 29.187592°E, edge of wheat field, 26 Jun 2023, Orlov (KW s.n., KWHA 103182). – An ephemerophyte new for Ukraine. The spontaneous spread of the species beyond the borders of the flower gardens in the M. M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of Kyiv City was also noted on 21 May 2022, Shynder & Kostruba (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/118053714).

O. Shynder, O. Orlov & T. Kostruba

Portulacaceae

Portulaca oleracea L. is a common weed in Romania (Grinţescu 1952; Anghel & al. 1972; Ciocârlan & al. 2004; Ciocârlan 2009 etc.). It has been reported in this country since the 18^th century (Baumgarten 1816; Schur 1866; Edel 1835–1853 & Guebhard 1842–1848 cited in Brândză 1879–1883; Uechtritz & Sintenis 1876 cited in Kanitz 1879–1881; Herbich 1859; Grecescu 1898; Brândză 1898 etc.). Portulaca oleracea subsp. sativa (Haw.) Čelak. was mentioned as a garden vegetable by Schur (1866) and Porcius (1885) from Transylvania (as P. sativa Haw.) and by Grecescu (1898) from the extra-Carpathian regions (as P. oleracea var. sativa (Haw.) DC.) (Sîrbu & Oprea 2011). In the botanical works from the last century as well as in recent times, the following species of Portulaca have been reported from Romania: P. oleracea L. (Prodan 1939; Borza 1947; Grinţescu 1952; Beldie 1977; Oprea 2005; Ciocârlan 2009; Sîrbu & Oprea 2011; Sârbu & al. 2013), P. grandiflora Hook. as casual alien (Morariu 1937; see other references in Sîrbu & Oprea 2011) and P. pilosa L. as naturalized alien (Nagodă & al. 2013).

Special research on the Portulaca oleracea aggregate based on micromorphological peculiarities of the seed surface was triggered by the investigations of Avinoam Danin in different countries of the world (Danin 2011a, 2011b; Danin & al. 2008, 2012, 2016). In this context, two morphotypes new for Romania were found, viz. P. granulatostellulata (Poelln.) Ricceri & Arrigoni (Danin 2011a) and P. trituberculata Danin & al. (2011b).

Fig. 15.

Oxalis articulata, flowering plants. – Crimea, Nikita, 7 Jun 2023, photograph by L. E. Ryff.

Our special investigation of the Portulaca oleracea complex in Romania was started in 2022 by C. Sîrbu and A. Oprea with material from different regions of the country (34 specimens). Some morphotypes new for the Romanian flora were identified: P. cypria Danin, P. daninii Galasso & al., P. macrantha (Maire) Ricceri & Arrigoni, P. nitida (Danin & H. G. Baker) Ricceri & Arrigoni, P. oleracea L. s.str., P. rausii Danin, P. sardoa Danin & al. and P. socotrana Domina & Raimondo, and P. granulatostellulata and P. trituberculata were confirmed (11 morphotypes in total).

See Supplemental content online for  Fig. S1–S3 (wi.54.54101_Supplement.pdf).

E. Bulakh, C. Sîrbu, A. Oprea, O. Volutsa & M. Shevera

Portulaca cypria Danin –  Fig. S1A, B (wi.54.54101_Supplement.pdf).

A Rm: Romania: Buzău, Râmnicu Sărat, 45.38231°N, 27.03869°E, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI). – New area record for this taxon, identified by SEM study of the seeds. Its native range is the Mediterranean basin. It is also found in many other European countries (POWO 2023).

E. Bulakh, C. Sîrbu, A. Oprea, O. Volutsa & M. Shevera

Portulaca daninii Galasso & al. (≡ P. oleracea subsp. tuberculata Danin & H. G. Baker) –  Fig. S1C, D (wi.54.54101_Supplement.pdf).

N Rm: Romania: Iaşi, M. Sadoveanu Alley, 47.20946°N, 27.53154°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Iaşi, Miroslava, Ion Vodă cel Viteaz Street, 47.4082°N, 27.54360°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Iaşi, Șorogari, 47.20260°N, 27.58781°E, roadside, 1963, Zanoschi(IASI); ibid., Iaşi, Mircea cel Bătrân residential area, 47.15605°N, 27.56213°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Vrancea, Focşani, 45.67287°N, 27.17918°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Buzău, Râmnicu Sărat, 45.39353°N, 27.04560°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Buzău, ring road, 45.13493°N, 26.78704°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Ilfov, Urziceni, 44.71385°N, 26.62536°E, 2022, roadside, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Ilfov, Urziceni, 44.71955°N, 26.62721°E, roadside ground, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Ilfov, Urziceni, 44.71624°N, 26.62611°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Buzău, Râmnicu Sărat, 45.39778°N, 27.04790°E, roadside ground, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Bucureşti, Splaiul Independenţei Street, 44.43768°N, 26.06922°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Bucureşti, Biological Research Institute, 44.44694°N, 26.04603°E, garden, 2022, Sîrbu & A. Oprea, (IASI); ibid., Bucureşti, right bank of river Dâmboviţa, 44.44734°N, 26.04030°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea, (IASI). – New area record for this taxon, identified by SEM study of the seeds. Its native range is Tropical America. It has recently been noted from Ukraine (Bulakh & al. 2020) and Poland (Bulakh & al. 2022).

E. Bulakh, C. Sîrbu, A. Oprea, O. Volutsa & M. Shevera

Portulaca macrantha Ricceri & Arrigoni (≡ P. oleracea subsp. macrantha Maire, nom. illeg.) –  Fig. S1E, F (wi.54.54101_Supplement.pdf).

A Rm: Romania: Iaşi, Țuţora, 47.13540°N, 27.79433°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Iaşi, Mircea cel Bătrân residential area, 47.15605°N, 27.56213°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Ilfov, Urziceni, 44.71385°N, 26.62536°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Ilfov, Urziceni, 44.71955°N, 26.62721°E, roadside ground, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Ilfov, Urziceni, 44.71624°N, 26.62611°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Bucureşti, Cotroceni Street, 44.43705°N, 26.06689°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI). – New area record for this taxon, identified by SEM study of the seeds. It is native to the Canary Islands and Morocco (Dobignard & Chatelain 2013), and introduced in Tunisia (Domina & al. 2010), Poland (Bulakh & al. 2022) and Ukraine (Bulakh & al. 2023).

E. Bulakh, C. Sîrbu, A. Oprea, O. Volutsa & M. Shevera

Portulaca nitida (Danin & H. G. Baker) Ricceri & Arrigoni (≡ P. oleracea subsp. nitida Danin & H. G. Baker) –  Fig. S2A, B (wi.54.54101_Supplement.pdf).

A Rm: Romania: Vrancea, Slobozia Bradului, 45.49367°N, 27.06135°E, vineyard, 1996, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Vaslui, Bădeana, 46.16738°N, 27.60062°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Vrancea, Focşani, 45.69015°N, 27.20203°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Bucureşti, right bank of river Dâmboviţa, 44.46040°N, 26.04160°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI). – New area record for this taxon, identified by SEM study of the seeds. The area of distribution is Europe to C Asia and N Africa (POWO 2023).

E. Bulakh, C. Sîrbu, A. Oprea, O. Volutsa & M. Shevera

Portulaca oleracea L. s.str. –  Fig. S2C, D (wi.54.54101_Supplement.pdf).

N Rm: Romania: Vaslui, Bădeana, 46.16738°N, 27.60062°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Buzău, ring road, 45.13493°N, 26.78704°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Bucureşti, right bank of river Dâmboviţa, 44.46040°N, 26.04160°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI). – New area record for this taxon, identified by SEM study of the seeds.

E. Bulakh, C. Sîrbu, A. Oprea, O. Volutsa & M. Shevera

Portulaca papillatostellulata (Danin & H. G. Baker) Danin (≡ P. oleracea subsp. papillatostellulata Danin & H. G. Baker) –  Fig. S2E, F (wi.54.54101_Supplement.pdf).

N Rm: Romania: Iaşi, M. Sadoveanu Alley, 47.20946°N, 27.53154°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Iaşi, Miroslava, Voineşti Street, 47.14633°N, 27.55206°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Iaşi, Alexandru cel Bun residential area, 47.16030°N, 27.57270°E, railway embankment, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Iaşi, train station, 47.16619°N, 27.56796°E, railway embankment, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Galaţi, Târgu Bujor, 45.86607°N, 27.90437°E, vineyard, 1996, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Iaşi, Mircea cel Bătrân residential area, 47.15605°N, 27.56213°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Vaslui, Bădeana, 46.16738°N, 27.60062°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Galaţi, Tecuci, 45.85010°N, 27.38700°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Vrancea, Focşani, 45.67287°N, 27.17918°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Vrancea, Focşani, 45.68437°N, 27.19392°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Buzău, Râmnicu Sărat, 45.39353°N, 27.04560°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Buzău, 45.13453°N, 26.78952°E, railway embankment, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Ilfov, Urziceni, 44.71385°N, 26.62536°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Buzău, Râmnicu Sărat, 45.39778°N, 27.04790°E, roadside ground, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Bucureşti, E81 street, 44.43453°N, 26.08174°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Bucureşti, Biological Research Institute, 44.44694°N, 26.04603°E, garden, 2022, Sîrbu & A. Oprea, (IASI); ibid., Bucureşti, right bank of river Dâmboviţa, 44.44734°N, 26.04030°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI). – New area record for this taxon, identified by SEM study of the seeds. The native range is the Mediterranean; it is also given as native for some countries of Europe (POWO 2023).

E. Bulakh, C. Sîrbu, A. Oprea, O. Volutsa & M. Shevera

Portulaca rausii Danin (≡ P. oleracea subsp. rausii (Danin) Greuter) –  Fig. S3A, B (wi.54.54101_Supplement.pdf).

A Rm: Romania: Iaşi, Sărărie Street, 47.18018°N, 27.57376°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Iaşi, Păcurari Street, 47.17283°N, 27.53111°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Iaşi, Miroslava, Ion Vodă cel Viteaz Street, 47.14082°N, 27.54360°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Buzău, Râmnicu Sărat, 45.39353°N, 27.04560°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Buzău, Râmnicu Sărat, 45.38231°N, 27.03869°E, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Buzău, ring road, 45.13493°N, 26.78704°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Bucureşti, Cotroceni Street, 44.43705°N, 26.06689°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Bucureşti, right bank of river Dâmboviţa, 44.44734°N, 26.04030°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI). – New area record for this taxon, identified by SEM study of the seeds. Its native range is the Mediterranean (POWO 2023).

E. Bulakh, C. Sîrbu, A. Oprea, O. Volutsa & M. Shevera

Portulaca sardoa Danin & al. –  Fig. S3C, D (wi.54.54101_Supplement.pdf).

A Rm: Romania: Iaşi, Sărărie Street, 47.18018°N, 27.57376°E, disturbed ground, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Iaşi, Țuţora, 47.13540°N, 27.79433°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu (IASI); ibid., Galaţi, Cosmeşti, 45.86197°N, 27.30917°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Buzău, Râmnicu Sărat, 45.38231°N, 27.03869°E, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Buzău, 45.13453°N, 26.78952°E, railway embankment, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI); ibid., Bucureşti, Cotroceni Street, 44.43705°N, 26.06689°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI). – New area record for this taxon, identified by SEM study of the seeds. This taxon is given only for Sardinia, Corsica (Danin & al. 2012, 2016; POWO 2023) and recently for Ukraine (Bulakh & al. 2023).

E. Bulakh, C. Sîrbu, A. Oprea, O. Volutsa & M. Shevera

Portulaca socotrana Domina & Raimondo –  Fig. S3E, F (wi.54.54101_Supplement.pdf). A Rm: Romania: Bucureşti, E81 street, 44.43453°N, 26.08174°E, roadside, 2022, Sîrbu & Oprea (IASI). – New area record for this taxon. Preliminarily determined as P. cf. socotrana, identified by SEM study of the seeds, and requiring additional research. The taxon was described from the island of Socotra (Domina & Raimondo 2009), now noted from Iran (Amini Rad & al. 2017) and Ukraine (Crimea) (Bulakh & al. 2023).

E. Bulakh, C. Sîrbu, A. Oprea, O. Volutsa & M. Shevera

Rosaceae

Malus niedzwetzkyana Dieck (= M. pumila Mill. s.l. = M. domestica Borkh. s.l.)

A Uk: Ukraine: Zhytomyr Oblast, E vicinity of Berdychiv city, 49.89703°N, 28.6577°E, edge of Trykutnyk forest, near highway, 5–6 year old self-sown tree, probably spontaneously escaped by zoochory from plantation 1.8 km away, 21 Jun 2021, Shynder & Orlov (KW s.n.; photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/102732945). – A tree species of C Asian origin. It is occasionally cultivated in many regions of Ukraine, but its occurrence outside cultivation has not been noted before. New for Ukraine as a casual alien, escaped from cultivation.

O. Shynder & O. Orlov

Fig. 16.

Clematis serratifolia – A: habitat (invasive in conifer plantation) and habit; B: flowering branch; C: fruiting branch. – Ukraine, Chernihiv Oblast, 1 Oct 2022, photographs by O. Shynder.

Malus toringo (Siebold) de Vriese (≡ M. sieboldii Rehder) A Uk: Ukraine: Kirovohrad Oblast, Holovanivsk Raion, Novoselytsia village, 48.303917°N, 30.326258°E, several mature trees planted in local arboretum, from there abundant self-sown seedlings and saplings outside arboretum, more than 35 individuals at more than 230 m from mature trees, 29 Jun 2021, Shynder (KW s.n., KWHA 102155; photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/112017489,  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/93347016); ibid., Kyiv City, M. M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden, edge of path in Syringaria plot, 50.417317°N, 30.563095°E, 3 year old sapling spontaneously spread (probably offspring from mature tree 110 m away), 30 Jun 2022, Levon (photo:  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/124858344). – A tree species of SE Asian origin, new for Ukraine as a casual alien, escaped from cultivation.

O. Shynder

Sapotaceae

Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels (≡ Sideroxylon spinosum L.) – Fig. 17.

A Tn: Tunisia: Nabeul, Korbous, 36°50′04″N, 10°35′34″E, Quercus coccifera L. forest of Korbous (where the species was successfully introduced), 227–230 m, 12 Apr 2019, El Mokni (herb. Univ. Monastir); ibid., 30 May 2022, El Mokni (herb. Univ. Monastir). – Argania spinosa is a shrub or tree with a native range from S Morocco and W Algeria to N Western Sahara and N Mauritania. The plant was introduced to scattered areas around the world including the Canary Islands and, in Europe, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain (e.g. Rivera & Ruiz 1978; Martínez-Gómez & al. 2020; Labarca-Rojas & al. 2022; GBIF 2023), as well as to Mexico and Argentina in the W hemisphere (Falasca & al. 2018). In Tunisia, introduction of the plant started in 1963, but no published report of its naturalization in the country is known by now (Raab-Straube 2020+; APD 2023; POWO 2023; GBIF 2023). During the monitoring of the floristic diversity of the Korbous forest, many juvenile individuals of A. spinosa were discovered resulting from seeds of the local mature planted trees. This is therefore the first record of A. spinosa as a possibly establishing xenophyte in Tunisia. It should be noted that, on recent molecular results, the genus Argania Roem. & Schult. is embedded in the genus Sideroxylon L. and should therefore better be sunk in the synonymy of the latter (Stride & al. 2014).

R. El Mokni

Fig. 17.

Argania spinosa – A: flowering branch; B: fruits. – Tunisia, Nabeul, Korbous, 30 May 2022, photographs by R. El Mokni.

Typhaceae

Typha shuttleworthii W. D. J. Koch & Sond. (≡ T. latifolia subsp. shuttleworthii (W. D. J. Koch & Sond.) Stoj. & Stef.; = T. latifolia var. bethulona (Costa) Kronf.)

+ Cg: Montenegro: Northern region, Boljanići, Sađe, Jakupov grob, swamp, 8 Aug 2022, Kuzmanović & Stevanoski (BEOU 45965); ibid., Boljanići, Čardak, in Typhetum shuttleworthii, 8 Aug 2022, Kuzmanović & Stevanoski (BEOU 45966). – According to Cook (1980), Typha shuttleworthii is distributed in SC and SE Europe, except Hungary where its occurrence is doubtful. However, according to Király (2007) and POWO (2023), it is considered extinct for this country. In former Yugoslavia it is known from Slovenia (Martinčić & al. 1999), Croatia (Nikolić 2015+), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Hayek & Markgraf 1933) and Serbia (Jovanović 1986; Niketić & Tomović 2018; Tomović & al. 2020; Jenačković-Gocić & al. 2020; Sabovljević & al. 2021). A record for Montenegro in the surroundings of Spuž and Danilovgrad (Rohlena 1942: 499, as T. latifolia var. bethulona (Costa) Kronf.), was in fact overlooked by Uotila (2011+b), but Rohlena reported the species even earlier from a swamp near Danilovgrad (Rohlena 1904: 86, as T. latifolia var. bethulona) noting that he could not be sure whether the plants he collected were T. shuttleworthii because the material was not in fruit. The populations found near Pljevlja (Boljanići) cover an area of about 5 m² each and corroborate the occurrence of that species in the N part of the country. At the first site near Jakupov grob it was found in a swamp together with Deschampsia cespitosa (L.) P. Beauv., Equisetum arvense L., Juncus inflexus L., Mentha longifolia (L.) L. and Valeriana officinalis L., neighboured by Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim. tall herb vegetation. The second site at Čardak is a small shallow pond where the association Typhetum shuttleworthii was recorded. The species is known from similar habitats in Serbia.

N. Kuzmanović & I. Stevanoski

Fig. 18.

Viola hissarica – A: synanthropic habitat; B: flowering plant. – Ukraine, Dnipro city, 25 Mar 2020, photographs by L. Karmyzova.